Dean v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co.

OPINION

GARDEBRING, Justice.

In a claim for underinsured motorist benefits, the trial court applied the collateral source provision in Minn.Stat. § 548.36 (1994) to reduce the aggregate damage award before subtracting the amount associated with the claimant’s comparative fault, as determined in an earlier jury trial. The court of appeals affirmed, and we reverse.

While driving his own car, Dale Dean, the plaintiff-respondent in this matter, was injured in a two-car collision with a vehicle driven by Nathan Sing. The passenger in Sing’s car was killed, and the trustee for her heirs and next of…